Huanillos

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Huanillos, sometimes called Guanillos, is a coastal town in Chile’s Tarapacá region, about 130 km south of Iquique. It was one of Chile’s main places for guano deposits, a seabird excrement fertilizer that was important in the 19th century. The guano of Huanillos was connected with the work of the German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, who studied South American plants and animals.

From 1845 to 1851, a Peruvian engineer sent by the government helped develop the area. After the Pacific War, Chile took control of the territory near Antofagasta in 1879. Guano extraction was approved by the Peruvian government in 1874, leading to the creation of the village of Huanillos. At that time it had about 825 residents (729 men and 96 women) and included hotels, a courthouse, shops, offices, and housing for workers.

Three types of workers labored there: Peruvians, Chileans, and Chinese laborers, known as coolies, who mainly mined guano. The Chinese workers were common because of a 1850 trade agreement between Peru and China that paid 50 soles per worker. They faced harsh treatment, and many suicides were reported; some survivors were rescued by Patricio Lynch, a Chilean officer who fought in the War of the Pacific.

Today Huanillos is a ghost town, full of memories and stories, including the mysterious Garcia-Burr Castle. Some say the castle is less than 100 years old, and records indicate it was built by Freddy Campaña.